By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
AUSTIN – Back in September Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law banning Sharia compounds in Texas.
His press release read that the governor had signed HB 4211 banning residential property developments, like EPIC City, from creating Sharia compounds and defrauding and discriminating against Texans.
“One of the issues at stake is the freedom of religion,” said Abbott. “Another issue at stake is what is called the right to contract. The fact is that religious freedom is a central part of the Texas Constitution. But bad actors like EPIC and EPIC City tried to use religion as a form of segregation. We will ensure that we have the laws and law enforcement in place to prevent attempts to build such discriminatory compounds in the state of Texas.”
Abbott also said those behind EPIC City sought to create an entire “city” open only to Muslims, subject anyone who lives there to Sharia law, and restrict a landowner’s ability to later sell property. The Governor also noted that the legislation he signed into law preserves religious freedom, a bedrock value of our great state, while also protecting against efforts to forcibly impose Sharia law onto Texans.
Apparently, there were either some big loopholes to Abbott’s signing of HB4211 or the compound going up in North Texas did not get the memo.
According to reports EPIC City has been renamed The Meadow and is moving forward.
The Meadow is part of property located in unincorporated areas of Collin and Hunt counties. It is a 402-acre development to include a mosque, more than 1,000 single and multi-family homes, a K-12 religious school, senior housing, sports facilities, and a community college.
At the time of the inception of EPIC City it was coined as an Islamic area to offer “more than just a neighborhood, it’s a way of life.”
During the summer, the U.S. Department of Justice closed an investigation regarding the compound after Community Capital Partners, EPIC City’s corporate entity, said everyone was welcome to live there as required under the Fair Housing Act.
Basically, The Meadow must produce only non-discriminatory marketing materials.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill was the one who reported the compound name change. To date there does not appear to be any county filings under the new name.
However, reportedly Community Capital Partners is poised to file an application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality soon as well as filing a plan application with Collin County.
Hill has said he would not support any project that “violates Texas or federal law.”
The EPIC City controversy began when officials in Collin County were met with a full house at a March 31 commissioners court meeting. That was spurred by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) planned expansion, which did not sit well with Collin County residents.
Texas Scorecard recently reported the developers have confirmed “nothing has been halted” regarding the project and The Meadow is still in “preliminary planning stages.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did announce last month his office had found evidence the developers “violated federal and state securities laws,” but nothing further has been released on that matter.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
